Apparatus for cutting ice



J. FIBLBMEYER. APPARATUS FOR BREAKING ICE.

.No. 31,307. A PatentedPeb. 5, 1861..

2727/72 as.- Y In van tan UNITED STA'ILITWENT oririb JOSEPH FIELEMEYER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING ICE.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. FIELEMEYER, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Cutting Ice; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in the employment for cutting ice of a weight having a series of sharp edged chisels the said weight being arranged to move in grooves increasing in width at their lower ends as described here after so that the said chisels may cut square blocks from a floating mass of ice without interfering with or being obstructed by the continuous movement of the said mass.

In order to enable others to make and use my invention I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

011 reference to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front view of my improved ice breaking apparatus, Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section of the same.

A, A represents the stationary ice and .B the floating block to be acted on by the breaking apparatus, there being a long channel formed in the permanent ice along which masses cut at some distance are floated toward the ice house.

The apparatus consists of two standards I) and I) on the inside of each of which is formed a groove (6 and in the grooves of the opposite standard slides the weight E the lower end of which is provided with a series of chisels v c the sharp edges of the latter being in a line with each other.

The weight E is suspended by two links to the short arms of a lever G secured to a shaft H the opposite ends of which turn in the opposite standards I) and I) the latter being connected together by the cross bar (Z and platform It.

It will be observed that the groove a in the inside of each standard increases in width toward the lower end: the object of this will be explained hereafter.

In cutting into blocks the ice which floats along the above mentioned channel it has been hitherto usual to station a man on each side of the said channel each man being supplied with a hatchet and both hatchets being brought down on the floating block as nearly sin'iultaneously as possible. As the floating mass is constantly moving along the 31,307, dated February 5, 1861.

channel great expertness is required on the part of the operators to cutoff with their hatchets blocks of that square form neces sary for packing, many of the blocks, owing to angular and crooked cuts, having to be dressed before they are deposited in the ice house. My above described apparatus has been especially designed to obviate these difiiculties.

The above described frame is placed on the permanent ice in such a position that the knives c e of the weight E are directly above the floating mass in the channel. The operator standing on the platform 7i grasps the lever G raises the weight E and allows it to fall, and this is repeated at such inter vals that the chisels will sever from the floating mass blocks of the proper length.

The floating ice being as before remarked constantly on the move the points of the chisels would either interfere with this movement, would be broken, or the whole of the machine would be displaced before the weight could be raised but for the peculiar form of the grooves in which the weight slides. It has been shown above that these grooves become gradually enlarged toward the lower end so that they permit the weight after its chisels have struck the floating ice to be pushed to the angular position (shown in red lines Fig. 2) by the moving mass. This affords time for the operator to raise the weight before any damage can be done, the shape of the grooves tending to guide the rising weight toward the parallel portion of the said grooves. It will be evident that the falling weight with its knives will cut the floating mass of ice into the desired square blocks and that the difficulties met with in practicing the usual process as described above are obviated by my improved apparatus.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- The employment for cutting ice of a weight E with chisels c 6 when the said weight is arranged to be moved in vertical grooves a (4 increasing in width at their lower ends as set forth for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH FIELEMEYER.

\Vitnesses HENRY IrIowsoN, JOHN WVHITE. 

